"Alright then, just eat." Ye Li picked up a piece of dragon fish crispy bone and popped it into her mouth.
This girl doesn't quite get it; we can only take our time… once familiar, she should qualify as a "connections" contact by the system's judgment…
"Stingy… you're only giving me a piece of bone… whoa~ what kind of bone is this!"
Muttering,
Galacta's eyes suddenly lit up. Chewing the bouncy fish bone, she said, "So delicious~!"
"Is that so…"
Ye Li took a piece himself and tasted it; it was indeed smooth and tasty. "Not bad, but not as exaggerated as you say. Looks like you've never had our Earth cuisine."
"What's this called? What's this called?" Galacta ate happily, tugging on him to ask.
"This is called… uh…"
Ye Li had wanted to show off a hometown dish in front of an alien, but realized he couldn't name it either…
So, he raised his chopsticks toward Venica and asked, "Venica, what dish is this?"
Venica's voice immediately sounded in the dining hall: [This is 'Glazed Fish Bones,' made from the head bones of sturgeon, simmered in a broth of nine kinds of bones—ox, sheep, deer, donkey, soft-shelled turtle, flying dragon bone, black-boned chicken, quail, etc. It's a famous dish of the Dragon Kingdom on Earth.]
"Oh… alright…" Ye Li felt a bit embarrassed; he didn't even recognize a famous dish from his own homeland…
"Brother, the one I made is really good too!"
Jessica pointed to the white mapo tofu in front of him and suggested, "Hurry and try more!"
"Is it? At a glance it looks like it has no flavor."
Ye Li felt the red, spicy sauce was the soul of mapo tofu; how could a completely white one taste good…
Thinking that, he put into his mouth the piece he'd just picked up but hadn't had time to eat.
After just two chews, surprise flashed in his eyes…
It tasted exactly like the red, spicy mapo tofu?
"How did you do it? What superpower did you use?" Ye Li asked his little sister.
"This isn't any superpower—it's what I worked hard to figure out myself."
Jessica said proudly, "Just remove the chlorophyll from the chili peppers used to make the tofu~"
"Amazing~!"
After giving her a thumbs-up as praise, Ye Li then asked, "Looks like you all haven't been very busy recently."
"Yeah."
Jessica glanced left at Gwen, who was dealing with a plate of seafood fried rice, and giggled. "Under our Ghost Spider's leadership, we've already reduced incidents of super-criminal activity and extraordinary disasters to a very low level."
"Mm-hmm… that's right, Li…"
Gwen lifted her head openly and gave Ye Li a gentle nod; her little mouth puffed up with rice looked very cute~
Ye Li smiled warmly back at her and offered a suggestion. "If so, why don't you help me with something?"
Cindy: "What is it?"
Felicia: "As long as it's Master's request, I'll do my best to complete it~"
Wanda: "I also want to help Li."
The other girls all readily agreed as well.
Seeing this harmonious mood, Ye Li was quite pleased. "I have an idea—to spread my divine name throughout the universe and gather faith..."
"Divine name?"
Jessica cut in, teasing lightly, "You mean that title you shouted worldwide before? Don't you think it sounds a bit chuunibyou—what was it, World…"
"World Weaver." Silvija also wore an amused smile.
Wanda, unusually, pouted and muttered, complaining, "I think 'Bondage Enthusiast' fits better…"
"Pffft~"
Crystal couldn't help but laugh, spilling a bit of juice onto her elder sister beside her.
"Sorry, sis.....I just think that title really suits Li~ ha...."
"It's fine, I think it's rather fun too." Medusa looked at Ye Li with an inscrutable gaze.
"That's enough, you all—don't derail the topic." Ye Li's face darkened.
"Hehe~"
Gwen, more understanding, chuckled softly.
"Li, you want us to help with this? No problem—I also want to try what it feels like to be a superhero in space~"
'Uh… that's not exactly what I meant…'
Ye Li thought it over...but still didn't refute her....
Continuing to be superheroes... works too, at least it's something Gwen has experience and talent in.
"I think it's great too!"
After finishing her teasing, Jessica saw the way her big brother was looking at her turn unfriendly, and hurriedly surrendered with practiced ease. "Plus, we can take the chance to spread the name of our Ghost Spider Club throughout the universe!"
"Mm."
Ye Li nodded in satisfaction. "If everyone agrees, then we'll settle it like this."
Hill, Sharon and the other SHIELD people were a bit speechless at what they heard.... We're still in SHIELD after all, how did we end up working for the club too.
However, having been with Ye Li this long, their bodies were in 'Cao Ying while their hearts were in Han'; they didn't say much more.
Moreover, these days SHIELD was under the club's thumb; Fury's noteworthy core staff had almost all been poached, so there was no need to draw such sharp lines.
…..
As Ye Li spoke, he looked over at Skye and Barbara and slowly said:
"Skye, we can also do something with the game Ready Player One————"
"Having those chosen top players control clone soldiers may be very cost-effective, but staying on Earth too long risks exposure."
"So, let's have the clone legions they control execute missions in space, letting the players help us too."
Barbara, the liaison work with the Nova Empire happens to need manpower, so let's have them be the grunt labor for that; besides, the players only need a bit of virtual in-game rewards."
Skye, you'll oversee the game development side and launch a new interstellar version.
That way, no player controlling the clone soldiers will realize they're piloting real people in battle…"
After explaining, he asked the two, "Did you get that?"
Barbara made an OK sign with her slender hand. "Got it!"
Skye slightly furrowed her brows in concern and said, "But... if we send the clone soldiers into the universe, won't there be a risk of some alien technology stealing control of the brain-chip?"
"You don't need to worry about that." Ye Li was unconcerned.
[That's right.]
Venica's voice sounded, picking up the thread: [Alien tech is just so-so; I hacked Xandar's systems with ease!]
Pride colored her tone.
…..
And she had reason to be proud———
Arnim Zola's complete consciousness-upload technology, plus the amplification from the Mind Stone's power, and even Ye Li's mental shield could be layered onto her.
With those conditions, Veronica could absolutely stand at the very top of the artificial intelligence field.
To put it bluntly, those things Stark built—[Ultron], [Friday]… are kids compared to Venica!
"Then there's no problem. I'll issue the orders as soon as possible." Skye nodded.
With business wrapped up, everyone happily continued dining~
…..
Time flew by.
Under Ye Li's command, the Ghost Spider had already arrived in the star region near Vormir.
However, among the Infinity Stones, the Soul Stone holds a special status, and the method to obtain it is a bit unique.
You must sacrifice someone you love and throw him/her/it/Him off the Soul-Cleft Cliff guarded by Red Skull to obtain it.
…..
In fact, Ye Li was a bit curious about the Soul Stone's sacrifice rules—————
In the MCU, Gamora was thrown off by Thanos, while Natasha jumped of her own will…
So, what if the person who falls off the cliff doesn't die?
Even if the Soul Stone's power makes the one who falls inevitably die, what if the one who falls is stronger than the Soul Stone?
Or is the rule that someone must die, not necessarily jump the cliff?
But in that case, wouldn't Gamora's attempt to kill herself have just played right into Thanos's hands?
… Maybe she just didn't know the rules at the time? Or was she thinking you have to make the sacrifice and then committed suicide?